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Topic: Help ! 69 without a protectoplate (Read 4035 times)

Hello, gents,I have just discovered the Forum and now asking for your help.

I have a '69 with the VIN 124379N651 1234, which has lost its protectoplate. Can anyone help with further info on original body color etc ?

This coupe was imported to the UK in 1993, very probably a 396 (?SS) - no idea where it came from in the USA. Now fitted with a 350 and specced for a 'standard equipment' UK historic race series. I have been racing it for 18 months around Gt Britain.

Any help or leads you can give will be much appreciated. I know very little about Camaros, and trying to learn fast.ThanksNick SavageLondon, UK

You should read everything you can from this link: http://www.camaros.org/which is a database of knowledge (practically everything you ever wanted to know about first gen Camaros, but were maybe afraid to ask?)..One thing it will explain is decoding of your data plate (and where to find it, etc) which has information on the paint color, int etc.If you have any specific questions from that read, or from your car, come back and ask again!

Are you referring to the tag or plate that is found on the firewall, under the "bonnet"? This is known as a "trim tag" or "cowl tag" here in the states. Whereas the protectoplate is the small plate that was attached to the warranty book and is easily and frequently separated (lost) from the car. Both tags would give pertinent information like: color, trim and date of build. The cowl tag may or may not indicate if the car was 396 equipped. This would depend on the build date starting with 2nd week of December 1968,when X codes were used for production line trim ID. Protectoplate data would give much more information regarding engine, transmission, carburetor, etc...These topics are covered thoroughly in this site elsewhere that you can look up yourself. Without those tags, very little, if anything, can be discerned about your car. Your VIN # is were I would start. At least you could determine when the car was built. Pictures to the site of different areas, like engine compartment would help others ID equipment specific to a certain option, engine, transmission etc.... lastly, looking behind rear seat on bulkhead (part that rear seat back attaches to) may give a clue as to what car is if a marking is still present or perhaps finding a build sheet on top of gas tank (one place they have been found). Hope this gets you started in right direction my UK friend. Most all topics regarding ID'ing a Camaro have been covered in nauseum on this site and can be found by doing a search of the site by topic.

Must be the trim tag missing. If your VIN has a "L" it was built in Los Angles and will not have a X code of any kind, If your VIN has a "N" it was built in Norwood, Ohio and you will not find a build sheet. Pictures would help alot. This is the site to learn fast. Good luck. VT

... Both tags would give pertinent information like: color, trim and date of build. The cowl tag may or may not indicate if the car was 396 equipped. This would depend on the build date starting with 2nd week of December 1968,when X codes were used for production line trim ID. Protectoplate data would give much more information regarding engine, transmission, carburetor, etc...These topics are covered thoroughly in this site elsewhere that you can look up yourself. Without those tags, very little, if anything, can be discerned about your car. ...

Clarification note: 1969 Protecto-plate information did NOT include color or interior codes.

Ooops ! yes, I mistranscribed the VIN - one '1' too many. You are right, it must be the trim or cowl tag that I am looking for. It is a Norwood-build car.

The problem is that there are no rivetted plates left on the body - just the VIN number on the dash-top inside the windscreen. So I am trying to find any database that might link the VIN to further info. I will take 69Z28's advice and read the link he sent me.Ko-lek-tor - just about everything got repainted when the car was race-prepared in 1999/2000, so no luck with the rear-seat bulkhead.I will post photos when I get down to the car again,Thank you all for your speedy help and advice and to anyone else who sees this - I am grateful for any info ...YrsNick

Is the heater box still in the car? If the heater hoses would have come out of the heater box, it would indicate a big block car. If they came out of the firewall to the right of the heater box, small block. I know it is a race car, but easy enough to check.

Welcome to the forum! Other than the bulk head what other areas have you checked for paint? A couple of places to look for original paint that usually don't get prepped enough is the door jams and where the hinges mount to he doors. A lot of time you will see paint flake off the hinges or in that vicinity because it was sanded down real good. Another spot would be in the wheel wells ( on the lip) and in the rocker moulding area, these too are areas that are over looked when guys go to prep a car for paint. If the car was somewhat original to start with you could check the front spring rates and some other exclusive big block only parts like the heater hose coming through the firewall as (X-77) pointed out. These areas might point you in the right direction of how your may have been equipped from the factory, but as mentioned without the trim plate or p.o.p. it is just going to be educated guessing. Hope these suggestions help!

Nick,If I've understood correctly, your dash top full VIN is 124379N651234, but both the hidden (partial) VINs are the same, being 9N527946.That being the case, and without a firewall trim tag to determine car's build date, it looks like there are several scenarios:1) A previous owner replaced the entire upper dash, including the VIN plate from donor Norwood-built car whose VIN was 124379N651234, which ended up on car that was built as 12xx79N527946. This is unlikely, as the donor car's VIN would then be visible on the original car and would not match the original VIN on the title, and would cause issues with state DMV and law enforcement, among others.2) A previous owner replaced the firewall and cowl area of car with VIN 124379N651234 with same panels from a donor car with partial VIN 9N527946, but retained the upper dash and original full VIN. IMHO, less likely than scenario 1 above.3) Car was originally 12xx79N527946, but has had the VIN from a later car swapped to hide it's identity. Could also explain why the cowl trim tag is missing, as the VIN would not match the build date by a long shot. If so, the car could have been stolen and another VIN (from a wreck, rusted out body, interstate-tagged car or ?) added.There could also be other scenarios that I haven't thought of, all sorts of things happened over the years and as your car is a race car and (presumably) hasn't been registered for a long time, who knows?It may open up a whole can of worms, but searching one of the free official US VIN check websites for any combination of full VIN that the partial VIN could have been (*) might tell you if the car is/was once stolen, but......

(*) As it's just a partial VIN, it could have been from an L-6, V8, coupe or convertible Camaro, so the possible combinations of VIN would be:123379N527946124379N527946123679N527946124679N527946

BTW, what part of London are you from? I spent many happy years living in the Hammersmith/Shepherd's Bush area, and met my (now) wife there.